The Ties that Bind
by LilFlyergirl
Summary: Sequel to Long Ever After. Someone from Caspian's past threatens to destroy Narnia and everyone in it.
1. The Little Princess

The Ties that Bind

Sequel to Long Ever After

Author's Note: Here it is! Next chapters will be longer!

The little girl squealed and ran around the garden, stopping now and again to see if her parents were in hot pursuit. Her brown ringlets danced against her tan skin as she wobbled along. It was a beautiful day in Narnia, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Eva's cries carried on the wind.

            "Gotcha!" Caspian cried, and with a dive, snatched the little girl in his arms.

Susan was footsteps behind him, and grinned when she saw he had grabbed her.

Eva squealed again, and tried to wiggle free of her father, but Susan bent down and picked her up. "I think Edmund has been teaching her how to avoid us."

Caspian laughed and got to his feet. "I am certain he has."

He wrapped his arm around Susan's shoulders and she wrapped her free arm around his waist and they began walking back to the castle.

It had been three years since the pair had married, and they had welcomed the birth of Princess Eva two years ago. Susan was ecstatic to be a mother, and she knew that Caspian was just as happy to have become a father. She was incredibly happy. Susan wasn't sure she could ever be this happy, but everything seemed to be perfect. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, she felt a horrible chill go up her spine. She stopped walking, a frown on her face.

            "Susan, are you alright?" Caspian asked.

She looked around. She knew that feeling. It was the same she had just before going into battle.

            "I just had the oddest sensation…" She whispered.

            "Shall I fetch the physician?"

            "No, no, I'm fine." She paused, but still, "Caspian, Miraz is dead, isn't he?"

Caspian slowly nodded. "Yes, for years now."

Susan wrapped both arms around Eva, holding the little girl tight to her chest.. "I just…"

            "Please tell me what is wrong."

            "I just have the feeling that something bad is about to happen."

Caspian wrapped both arms around his wife and child. "I would never let anything bad happen to you or Eva. Not while there is breath in my lungs and strength in my body."

Susan held onto him tightly. "I know." She still felt the uneasiness, but she didn't want to worry him any further. "Come on, we'll be late for the meeting with Peter."

The three of them walked inside, leaving the daylight behind.

XXX

Far across the shores, at the far end of Narnia, the land was closed in thick ice. The ocean was frozen, the trees were sealed inside a sheet of ice. As was a young man with hate in his eyes and fire in his heart. It was a place where no one dare ventured, it was a place that children spoke of around campfires. But after the invasion of the Telmarine's and Aslan's return, the sun was out and shining. And it began to melt the ice. Soon, after a long winter, he would be free.


	2. Meeting of the Minds

Thanks for all the faves and the reviews!!

Ch 2: Meeting of the Minds

The air in the meeting room felt charged. At a large round table sat the humans of Narnia, and Peter was speaking.

Caspian and Susan sat side by side. Peter sat across from them, and Edmund and Lucy on either side of him. Peter had a large chart in front of him, and was going over how much man power they would need to make repairs on the castle grounds. Susan only half listened, her brother could be long winded at times, and still she could not shake her bad feeling. Caspian caught her expression and reached for her hand under the table. She gave him a smile and squeezed his hand in return. Thank God Caspian was here. He listened to her, and understood her much better than her siblings ever could.

            "Susan, what do you think?" Peter asked.

Susan's eyes bulged. Thought about what? She hadn't been paying attention.

            "I think we're both in agreement that the priority is of course, the well." Caspian said.

Susan could have kissed him. Of course! The well by the west gate was all but falling apart. Narnians counted on that well as a back up for water, and with it out of commission; they were starting to get nervous.

Edmund smiled, "Now that we have this boring meeting over…"

            "It may be boring to you, Ed, but these are things that have to be done." Peter replied.

            "Where's my niece?" Edmund asked, ignoring his brother.

            "Cornelius put her down for a nap." Susan said.

Edmund pushed himself away from the table. "Well, I'm going to go practice."

            "What about the well?" Peter demanded.

            "You've got more than enough people."

            "That's not the point, Ed. We live here now. This isn't vacation!" Peter yelled.

            Edmund had enough. Here he was day after day, waking in paradise, and it just wasn't enough for him anymore. He wanted adventure, no he needed it. "Maybe I don't want to live here!" He bellowed, and stalked off.

Peter turned his head and began muttering under his breath. Why did Edmund always have to be so damn hard headed? Why couldn't he ever do as he was told? Edmund needed structure and boundaries. Maybe Narnia was wrong for him. But they were here now. They needed to make do.

            "Peter…" Susan started.

To hell with Edmund. There was work to be done. Peter balled up the chart and stalked off as well.

Susan watched his retreating back. "Oh boy."

Lucy looked anxiously from Caspian to Susan. "I like it here." She said softly.

            "I know you do, Lu." Susan replied. She squeezed Caspian's hand again. She didn't have any idea that Peter and Edmund were so miserable. She just figured that her brothers and sisters were just as happy as she was.

            "May I be excused? Trumpkin and I were going to pick strawberries up on the hill!" Lucy declared.

            "Of course." Caspian replied with a smile. "Enjoy."

Lucy ran over and gave Susan and Caspian hugs. "They'll get over it." She said, and left the room.

            "Oh, Caspian, what are we going to do?" Susan asked.

            "Maybe they need time?" He asked.    

            "It's been three years." She said with a sigh.

            "I know it has." He said and kissed the crown of her head. "Would you like to join us at the well?"

Susan shook her head, she was starting to get a pounding migraine. She clutched her head. "Perhaps later. I'm going to lie down for awhile."

            "Are you certain you're feeling well?" Caspian asked with a frown.

            "I feel fine, just a headache."

            "Okay. I'll be back to check on you."

Susan wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You take such good care of me."

            "I know." He said with a grin.

            "Enjoy fixing the well." She said.

He eyed her devilishly, but she shot him a grin in return and walked out the door.

XXX

Edmund stalked off far into the forest. He just needed to get away, to clear his head. He had only half meant what he said. He did love Narnia, but he was horribly bored. Why did Peter always have to make a production out of everything? Why did he always have to be right? Edmund needed to get away for awhile, he needed… the Dawn Treader! Yes, the open sea was what would clear his mind. He'd simply ask Caspian if he could borrow the ship. Feeling better than he did in days, Edmund turned and headed back to the castle.

XXX

The wind whistled through the barren landscape, causing naught but the virgin snow to shift on the land. There was an eerie silence to this part of Narnia, where nothing grew, not even a single blade of grass. Just vast mountains of snow in all directions, a carpet of white as far as the eye could see. But there was one fortress that stood out against the white. A purple cave gloomed ominously in the tundra, and inside a man who would soon be free.

Adelio reached out his hand, and a cool breezed caressed his finger. Air! That was air! Adelio reached further, and his whole hand broke out of the ice! He grinned. Oh, this was marvelous! Soon he'd be free of this frigid prison, and he'd be on his way back to the castle to see what had happened in his absence. Who knew how long it had been since Aslan had cast him out? Furthermore, why had the ice began to melt? Was Aslan loosing his touch? For too long Adelio had lived in a frozen solitude. Far, far, too long.  And as Adelio wiggled his body, the ice began to crack. Over the years as it melted, it now became icicle thin. And with a sudden movement, Adelio was free. He stretched and grinned, and took his first steps in years. His legs were a little rigid, but in no time he'd be as limber as he ever was. Not wanting to waste any more time, Adelio headed out of the cave and toward the frozen lake. Snow littered his hair. A cold chill stung his cheeks, but he was free! And soon, very soon, he'd see what his little brother had been up to in his wake.


	3. Changes

Eva stared. She knew for a fact that Edmund had just been in front of her. Where had he gone? And then, suddenly, he reappeared again! He had been hiding his face behind his hands this whole time! That had to be the funniest thing she had ever seen!

Edmund laughed as Eva giggled. Playing with the baby had to be one of his favorite pastimes, that and practicing his sword fighting. Through the large open aired windows, Edmund could hear the commotion coming from those working on the well. He felt a little guilty about not being down there himself, but like he had said before, Peter had more than enough people.

Edmund turned as Susan entered the room. Now more than ever his sister reminded him of their mother, he wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was a young married woman now, or that she was a mother herself, but Susan had definitely changed. Susan took the chair next to him, and Eva waddled over to her. Susan lifted her daughter onto her lap, and turned to her brother. "What's going on, Ed?"

Knowing full well what she meant, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"The scene today. I thought you were all over those."

Edmund got to his feet and turned from her. Didn't she get it? Susan had gotten everything she ever wanted! Edmund was still stuck in paradise everyday with nothing to do! "You wouldn't understand." He said.

"Try me."

"Well, it just seems that Narnia has only changed for you."

Susan stared at him. She was taken aback, but was wondering when this subject would come up. Yes, things had worked out for her. She had married the prince, and she had a beautiful daughter, and everything was wonderful. But it wasn't like Narnia was the pits for everyone else. "What is it you want?"

"I… I want to get away. Not forever, just for a few days. I was going to ask Caspian if I could borrow the Dawn Treader."

Susan locked her eyes on Eva. She'd be happier having her siblings where she could keep her eye on them, but… "Then I think that's what you should do."

Edmund wasn't expecting this. He was awaiting a lecture about how foolish it would be for him to take the ship. "You think it's a good idea?"

"If that's what you want." She said.

Edmund watched as Eva got down from her mother's lap, and waddled over to the middle of the floor. She stopped, bent down and picked up her bottle from the floor. She grinned, and put it to Edmund's lips.

"Thank you, Eva." He said he pulled the bottle away from his mouth and watched the liquid wash over the sides like the open sea.

"That's full of my milk." Susan said.

Edmund turned green and dropped it in disgust. How could she have not told him that earlier?

"I'm kidding." She said with a smile. "It's just juice." She bent down and handed the bottle back to her daughter. She threw it to the floor and wandered over to a large stuffed lion that sat beside her crib.

Edmund stared at Susan for a moment. In that instant, she looked so much like their mother. "Don't you miss home at all?" He asked.

"Some days." She said, walking over to Eva. "Is this what this is about?"

"No… I don't know… I just want Narnia to feel the way it did for me before."

"Like a second home?" She asked. "Edmund, when we reigned, you didn't once complain about missing home."

"That's just it." He said. "When we reigned, I got respect."

"You still get respect." She said.

"Not like Caspian."

"Well, our time is over."

"Not for you."

"Edmund…" She said, bringing her hands to her head. She scrubbed her face, "What is it you want me to say? What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing." He said bitterly.

"Take the Dawn Treader. Clear your head, do whatever it is you want to do."

"Yeah." He said and got to his feet. He turned to the door.

"Edmund," She called back.

He turned to her.

"Things change." She said. "And we have to change with them."

Eva waved to him.

***_

Lucy's radiant smile could be seen from a thousand miles away. She laughed and chased after Trumpkin who had a fresh bushel of strawberries in his hand. They had picked them together, laughing and eating until their bellies were full of jam. Then he had picked a nice round one and had smashed it into her face, a crooked smile and glint in his eye as he grabbed the pail and took off running. It only took Lucy a moment to get to her feet, and she chased the little Narnian down the hill.

There was a loud cry from the bush to her right, and Lucy stopped in haste. The bush shuttered and Trumpkin emerged, followed by a sallow looking centaur. He towered over the two of them, and crossed his great arms before glaring down at Trumpkin. His tail twitched in agitation and he gave Trumpkin a hard push that sent him falling forward.

Lucy rounded on him "Hey, that wasn't nice!" She shouted. She had to tilt her head all the way back to look the centaur in the face. He was dark amber in color, with the body of a sleek wild thoroughbred. A shock of thick chestnut hair adorned his scalp and fell to a mane at his shoulders.

The centaur turned to Lucy, his dark brown eyes taking in every inch of the small queen, before giving a great bow. "My apologies, Queen of Old."

Trumpkin, already on his feet, grunted and rolled his sleeves up, his hands balling into fists.

"It's fine," Lucy said eying Trumpkin who rolled his eyes, "we're sorry to disturb you."

The centaur shook his head, "I was napping, my queen. Alas, the shade of this bush does naught to block out the heavens."

"Oh, I do enjoy watching the stars!" Lucy cried happily.

The centaur gave a low sigh. His eyes locked on the ground.

"Don't you?" Lucy asked curiously, "I'm sorry, Mister…?"

"They call me Lycaeus."

"Mr. Lycaeus," Lucy said with a smile.

"I used to. I would sit and watch them dance for nights on end. But the heavens have stopped smiling, my queen. They no longer tell a tale of peace in Narnia." He looked at her with piercing eyes, "Can't you feel it? The coolness in the air? The sour flavor on your tongue?"

"I think we've heard enough." Trumpkin interrupted.

Lucy stared back at Lycaeus with a frown. "Aslan would never let anything happen."

"So you do feel it." Lycaeus confirmed.

Lucy frowned again. No, she did not feel it. Narnia was beautiful. Narnia was home, and her brothers would learn to love it as much as she did. They were arguing because they were boys, and that's what boys did.

"I said that's enough," Trumpkin hissed, grabbing Lucy by the arm and pulling her forward.

"Heed my warning, my queen!" Lycaeus called to their retreating backs.

"Superstitious old goat," Trumpkin muttered. "Don't you listen to a word."

Lucy glanced over her shoulder to where Mr. Lycaeus had stood. It was a barren bush now. "Why did he say such things?"

"He's a centaur, what did you expect? The whole lot of them are superstitious."

Lucy shook her head. Her stomach growled loudly.

"Lunch time?" Trumpkin asked with a smirk.

"Lunch time," Lucy confirmed with a smile.

*********************************-

Edmund cut the last rope that held the mighty ship ashore. He waved happily as the Telmarine castle, his family, and the narnians bid him farewell. It was just he and the open sea now, with a handful of crew to help him man the boat. But the ocean was his. He could clear his head, and endless time stretched before him as wide as the sea.


End file.
